ACMA issues fine after Do Not Call Register infringement

Melbourne telecommunications service provider Telko has paid $52,800 in fines after the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) found that a call centre used by Telko made telemarketing calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Register.

According to ACMA, it received 91 complaints in 2011 about Telko from people who had registered their number on the Register. During the telemarketing calls, consumers were asked to switch their phone plan to Telko.

“Even though the calls were made by the call centre and not Telko, the company has the ultimate responsibility to monitor compliance,” said an ACMA spokesperson.

“The investigation found that Telko did not supervise the Australian call centre that made the telemarketing calls to numbers on the register.”

She added that businesses using an external call centre for telemarketing must make sure that the centre is checking its call lists against the register before calls are made.

“They should also audit each call centre to ensure that it is only calling numbers that are not listed on the Do Not Call Register,” she said. “If organisations don’t meet their obligations under the Act, they could face serious penalties from ACMA.”

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